On Aug. 31, Allentown Central Catholic High School students and staff attended the ordination of Bishop Schlert at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena in Allentown. Students who are members of the bishop’s team had a hands-on role in the ordination and were very excited to take part in the historic event.

Fall sports teams are enjoying many victories.

The Viking football team recently defeated Pleasant Valley with a score of 28-21 and Pocono Mountain West with a score of 41-20.

Girls soccer has faced a series of ups and downs with a 2-1 victory over Nazareth, a 1-2 loss to Whitehall in overtime and a 2-2 tie with Emmaus. The boys soccer team scored a 6-2 victory over Nazareth, defeated Whitehall 3-1, and lost 0-2 against Emmaus later in the week.

The volleyball team had a successful tournament Sept. 5, where they defeated Easton in three matches with scores of 25-9, 25-14 and 25-12.

Individual athletes have also recently received acclaim. Viking Lacrosse seniors Matt Marker and Zach Nelson were named “2018 Pennsylvania Boys Lacrosse Players to Watch” by Mike Loveday of laxrecords.com. Three football players, seniors Harrison Ike and Vincent Lynch and junior Logan Bachman, were named gridiron stars of the weeks by Lehigh Valley Live.

Freshman parents open house was held Sept. 13. Parents and guardians of freshman students followed their child’s schedule and met their teachers. Upperclassmen parents open house will be held Sept. 20.

Allentown Central Catholic’s community service program, the Central City Project, has began its salsa-making process. A few blocks away from the school, the CCP runs an urban garden growing many vegetables, including tomatoes, carrots and jalapeños. These ingredients are diced by students and made into Viking Salsa and Hot Shots, which are then sold at football games and other school events to raise money to fund the CCP’s community dinners.

On Sept. 15, the Red Cross Club hosted a dress down day to help raise funds for those affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Much of the student body participated in this event and expressed their supports for those who recently experienced these disasters.

On Sept. 24 at the SteelStacks in Bethlehem, the Diocese of Allentown will host the Diocesan Family Festival 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. An outdoor, multi-cultural mass will kick off the festival, followed by ethnic foods, live music, games and activities. More information can be found at allentowndiocese.org.

A T-shirt fundraiser to support the Pediatric Cancer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley continues through Sept. 22 with 100 percent of the proceeds going to local families. See Mr. Haring for details.

Support the softball team by having dinner 5 to 8 p.m. at Chick-fil-A Whitehall, 2610 MacArthur Road. The event will raise funds for new equipment and field maintenance.